Article
Immunology
Stefan Petkov, Carolina Herrera, Laura Else, Limakatso Lebina, Daniel Opoka, Thabiso B. Seiphetlo, Azure-Dee Ap Pillay, Susan Mugaba, Patricia Namubiru, Geoffrey Odoch, Andrew S. Ssemata, Jennifer Serwanga, Pontiano Kaleebu, Emily L. Webb, Saye Khoo, Neil Martinson, Clive M. Gray, Julie Fox, Francesca Chiodi
Summary: This study investigates the impact of short-term oral PrEP on the gene expression in foreskin tissue in men. The results suggest that oral PrEP modulates genes that are unfavorable to HIV acquisition and replication, and may affect mitochondria biology negatively.
FRONTIERS IN IMMUNOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Medicinal
Tingting Chen, Yinfeng Lyu, Meishu Tan, Chengyi Yang, Ying Li, Changxuan Shao, Yongjie Zhu, Anshan Shan
Summary: By studying the principles of self-assembly, a high-activity and low-toxicity AMP F2I-LL was designed and screened. The peptide can form a supramolecular hydrogel with nanofiber microstructure, exhibiting broad-spectrum antibacterial activity in simulated physiological environments. The introduction of self-assembly strategy improved bactericidal titer and serum stability of AMPs, with mechanistic studies showing rapid binding to bacteria and cell membrane rupture. This work provides insights for designing nanopeptides with broad-spectrum antibacterial activity and new results for biomedical development.
JOURNAL OF MEDICINAL CHEMISTRY
(2021)
Article
Immunology
Chin-Shiang Tsai, Kuan-Yin Lin, Bo-Huang Liou, Chien-Shun Chiou, Yi-Chun Lin, Yuan-Ti Lee, Chia-Jui Yang, Hung-Jen Tang, Ying-Shu Liao, Chun-Eng Liu, Chen-Hsiang Lee, Po-Liang Lu, Sung-Hsi Huang, Chien-Ching Hung, Wen-Chien Ko
Summary: Shigellosis has been increasing among men who have sex with men (MSM) and people living with HIV (PLWH) in Taiwan. The dominant strains have changed over the years, with ciprofloxacin-resistant Shigella flexneri 2a becoming the most prevalent in recent years. There is also emerging resistance to cefotaxime. Inappropriate use of antibiotics is common.
EMERGING MICROBES & INFECTIONS
(2022)
Article
Infectious Diseases
Stephen E. Goldstone, Anna R. Giuliano, Joel M. Palefsky, Eduardo Lazcano-Ponce, Mary E. Penny, Robinson E. Cabello, Edson D. Moreira, Ezio Baraldi, Heiko Jessen, Alex Ferenczy, Robert Kurman, Brigitte M. Ronnett, Mark H. Stoler, Oliver Bautista, Rituparna Das, Thomas Group, Alain Luxembourg, Hao Jin Zhou, Alfred Saah
Summary: The quadrivalent HPV vaccine provides durable protection against anogenital diseases related to HPV6, 11, 16, and 18 in men, as supported by a 10-year follow-up study. The results suggest the importance and effectiveness of quadrivalent HPV vaccination in men, including catch-up vaccination.
LANCET INFECTIOUS DISEASES
(2022)
Review
Medicine, Research & Experimental
Prince N. Dlozi, Angelina Gladchuk, Rustin D. Crutchley, Nicole Keuler, Renier Coetzee, Admire Dube
Summary: Tuberculosis and HIV continue to pose significant global health challenges, highlighting the urgent need for novel therapeutic strategies. Host mediated immune response through antimicrobial peptides shows promise in TB and HIV management, but faces complex challenges in pharmaceutical development. Nanoparticle formulations offer potential solutions for targeted drug delivery and improved efficacy in these therapeutic interventions.
BIOMEDICINE & PHARMACOTHERAPY
(2022)
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Adam Dale Newman Williams, Fiona Wood, David Gillespie, Zoe Couzens, Kathryn Hughes, Kerenza Hood
Summary: MSM in Wales have positive views and good knowledge of PrEP and bacterial STIs. Despite concerns about reduced condom use, condom use behaviors remain stable in relation to PrEP initiation. PrEP use is primarily driven by HIV concern and shows minimal association with awareness of resistant STIs.
Article
Infectious Diseases
Christophe Van Dijck, Jolein Gyonne Elise Laumen, Tessa de Block, Said Abdellati, Irith De Baetselier, Achilleas Tsoumanis, Surbhi Malhotra-Kumar, Sheeba Santhini Manoharan-Basil, Chris Kenyon, Basil Britto Xavier
Summary: The oropharyngeal resistome of MSM using PrEP is significantly different from the general population, with higher levels of antimicrobial resistance genes, particularly for cephalosporins, macrolides, and fluoroquinolones. This suggests a need for stewardship campaigns to reduce antibiotic consumption in high-risk populations and mitigate the risk of infection.
JOURNAL OF INFECTION
(2023)
Review
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Yash Acharya, Kashish Kumar Taneja, Jayanta Haldar
Summary: The emergence of antimicrobial resistance and persistent systemic infections further complicate clinical therapy efforts. Infections trigger inflammatory responses, which are closely intertwined with bacterial infection and have implications for antibacterial therapy. Uncontrolled inflammatory responses can lead to sepsis. This review discusses dual-functional antibacterial therapeutics that address inflammation associated with bacterial infections. Research is focused on developing therapeutic agents with immunomodulatory properties along with antibacterial activity, such as host defense peptides and their synthetic mimics.
RSC MEDICINAL CHEMISTRY
(2023)
Article
Infectious Diseases
Lao-Tzu Allan-Blitz, Timothy W. Menza, Vanessa Cummings, Charlotte A. Gaydos, Leo Wilton, Kenneth H. Mayer
Summary: Younger participants had the highest STI incidence. Use of saliva as lubricant may be a driver of rectal infection, which deserves further study.
SEXUALLY TRANSMITTED DISEASES
(2021)
Article
Dentistry, Oral Surgery & Medicine
Julia Gaspar de Oliveira Santos, Debora Petrungaro Migueis, Jonatas Bussador do Amaral, Andre Luis Lacerda Bachi, Alexandre Coelho Boggi, Andrew Thamboo, Richard Louis Voegels, Rogerio Pezato
Summary: This study aimed to evaluate the impact of SARS-CoV-2 on saliva composition, revealing decreased lactoferrin and IgA concentrations in COVID-19 patients, and increased IgM concentrations during acute infection.
JOURNAL OF ORAL BIOSCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Immunology
Atila V. V. Nobre, Tabata L. S. Polvora, Diana E. Ramos Pena, Kelly V. Villafuerte, Gilberto A. Silva, Ana Laura P. Ranieri, Leandro D. de Macedo, Karen M. L. Morejon, Benedito A. L. da Fonseca, Camila Tirapelli, Maria C. P. Saraiva, Bruno Pozzetto, Alan G. Lourenco, Ana Carolina F. Motta
Summary: The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of non-surgical periodontal therapy on clinical parameters of periodontitis in HIV-infected patients. The results showed that non-surgical periodontal therapy improved periodontal disease parameters in HIV-infected patients, but did not affect the expression of lactoferrin and histatin in saliva and gingival crevicular fluid.
CURRENT HIV RESEARCH
(2023)
Review
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Roland Hellinger, Arnar Sigurdsson, Wenxin Wu, Elena V. Romanova, Lingjun Li, Jonathan V. Sweedler, Roderich D. Suessmuth, Christian W. Gruber
Summary: Peptidomics combines genomics, modern proteomics, analytical chemistry, and computational biology techniques for peptide discovery and characterization. Peptides are biopolymers composed of 2-50 amino acids, often produced by cellular machinery or enzymes. They play important physiological roles as signaling molecules and toxins, and have emerging applications in biomarker discovery and therapeutics. Peptidomics involves qualitative and quantitative analysis of peptides in biological samples using a specialized set of tools and workflows.
NATURE REVIEWS METHODS PRIMERS
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Rodney K. Rousseau, Leah Szadkowski, Colin M. Kovacs, Michael F. Saikali, Rabea Nadeem, Fat Malazogu, Sanja Huibner, Carolyn L. Cummins, Rupert Kaul, Sharon L. Walmsley
Summary: The study revealed that during long-term treated HIV infection, immunologic non-responders (INRs) show elevated CD8 activation and CD4 gut homing. Gut-focused interventions may be needed in the context of INRs, and CD8 activation could serve as a surrogate endpoint for clinical interventions.
Article
Immunology
Maria Leis, Miranda McDermott, Alex Koziarz, Leah Szadkowski, Antony Kariri, Tara S. Beattie, Rupert Kaul, Joshua Kimani
Summary: The study revealed a high prevalence of violence among female sex workers in Nairobi, with a significant proportion experiencing depression and anxiety. Despite the availability of PrEP, its usage was relatively low. The findings highlighted the association between violence and mental health issues, as well as the impact of client-perpetrated emotional violence on PrEP utilization.
JOURNAL OF THE INTERNATIONAL AIDS SOCIETY
(2021)
Article
Pharmacology & Pharmacy
Sana-Kay Whyte-Allman, Rupert Kaul, Reina Bendayan
Summary: In this study, we found that exposure to an HIV pseudotype virus led to a significant increase in the expression of ABC drug efflux transporters in CD4(+) T-cells, which was attenuated by mTOR inhibitors. Furthermore, inhibition of P-gp or MRP1 activity resulted in lower concentrations of proinflammatory cytokines in supernatants of PBMC exposed to the virus.
FRONTIERS IN PHARMACOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Microbiology
Matthew Y. Cho, Marc Oliva, Anna Spreafico, Bo Chen, Xu Wei, Yoojin Choi, Rupert Kaul, Lillian L. Siu, Bryan Coburn, Pierre H. H. Schneeberger
Summary: In this study, a quantitative PCR-based assay was used to predict host-to-microbe ratios before sequencing, validated on two sample types, and showed accurate prediction across a range of sample compositions. This easy-to-use assay can help researchers plan their shotgun sequencing experiments more efficiently by predicting human-to-microbe ratios.
Article
Immunology
Rodney K. Rousseau, Sharon L. Walmsley, Terry Lee, Ron Rosenes, Robert J. Reinhard, Fat Malazogu, Erika Benko, Sanja Huibner, Colin M. Kovacs, Joel Singer, Connie J. Kim, Rupert Kaul
Summary: This study aimed to evaluate whether probiotic supplementation could reduce immune activation in HIV-positive individuals with the immunologic nonresponder phenotype. The results showed that supplementation with probiotics did not reduce immune activation markers and may have increased CD4(+) T-cell activation.
JAIDS-JOURNAL OF ACQUIRED IMMUNE DEFICIENCY SYNDROMES
(2022)
Article
Microbiology
Ronald M. Galiwango, Daniel E. Park, Sanja Huibner, Abigail Onos, Maliha Aziz, Kelsey Roach, Aggrey Anok, James Nnamutete, Yahaya Isabirye, John Bosco Wasswa, Deo Male, Godfrey Kigozi, Aaron A. R. Tobian, Jessica L. Prodger, Cindy M. Liu, Rupert Kaul
Summary: The distal urethra in uncircumcised Ugandan men is immunologically rich with characteristics of an HIV-susceptible tissue site. Penile circumcision (PC) has no impact on urethral immunology and may reduce epithelial integrity, despite modest reductions in total bacteria and anaerobes.
Article
Medicine, Research & Experimental
Shanzeh M. Ahmed, Nina L. Fransen, Hanane Touil, Iliana Michailidou, Inge Huitinga, Jennifer L. Gommerman, Amit Bar-Or, Valeria Ramaglia
Summary: Meningeal inflammation may play a significant role in subpial cortical injury in multiple sclerosis, and it is related to white matter lesion activity.
Article
Medicine, Research & Experimental
Elissa G. Currie, Bryan Coburn, Elisa A. Porfilio, Ping Lam, Olga L. Rojas, Jan Novak, Stuart Yang, Raad B. Chowdhury, Lesley A. Ward, Pauline W. Wang, Khashayar Khaleghi, James An, Sarah Q. Crome, Michelle A. Hladunewich, Sean J. Barbour, Daniel C. Cattran, Rulan S. Parekh, Christoph Licht, Rohan John, Rupert Kaul, Kenneth Croitoru, Scott D. Gray-Owen, David S. Guttman, Jennifer L. Gommerman, Heather N. Reich
Summary: IgA nephropathy is a leading cause of kidney failure, and aberrant immune responses to mucosal microbiota, particularly Neisseria, may play a role in its pathogenesis. This study found increased carriage of Neisseria and elevated Neisseria-specific IgA levels in the tonsils of IgA nephropathy patients. Experimentally, mice with overexpression of BAFF and susceptible to Neisseria infection showed augmented levels of systemic Neisseria-specific IgA, as well as the presence of anti-Neisseria-specific IgA-secreting cells in the kidneys.
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Xuyang Tang, Abha Sharma, Maria Pasic, Patrick Brown, Karen Colwill, Hellen Gelband, H. Chaim Birnboim, Nico Nagelkerke, Isaac I. Bogoch, Aiyush Bansal, Leslie Newcombe, Justin Slater, Peter S. Rodriguez, Guowen Huang, Sze Hang Fu, Catherine Meh, Daphne C. Wu, Rupert Kaul, Marc-Andre Langlois, Ed Morawski, Andy Hollander, Demetre Eliopoulos, Benjamin Aloi, Teresa Lam, Kento T. Abe, Bhavisha Rathod, Mahya Fazel-Zarandi, Jenny Wang, Mariam Iskilova, Adrian Pasculescu, Lauren Caldwell, Miriam Barrios-Rodiles, Zahraa Mohammed-Ali, Nandita Vas, Divya Raman Santhanam, Eo Rin Cho, Kathleen Qu, Shreya Jha, Vedika Jha, Wilson Suraweera, Varsha Malhotra, Kathy Mastali, Richard Wen, Samir Sinha, Angus Reid, Anne-Claude Gingras, Pranesh Chakraborty, Arthur S. Slutsky, Prabhat Jha
Summary: This study aimed to assess the incidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection among Canadian adults during the first two viral waves. The study found that the incidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection in Canada was low and lower than the levels of population immunity required to substantially reduce transmission of the virus. Ongoing vaccination efforts remain central to reducing viral transmission and mortality.
Article
Immunology
Feixue Wei, Ningshao Xia, Rebeca Ocampo, Marc T. Goodman, Nancy A. Hessol, Beatriz Grinsztejn, Ana P. Ortiz, Fanghui Zhao, Erna M. Kojic, Rupert Kaul, Isabelle Heard, Imran O. Morhason-Bello, Anna-Barbara Moscicki, Alexandra de Pokomandy, Joel M. Palefsky, Luana L. S. Rodrigues, Racheal S. Dube Mandishora, Reshmie A. Ramautarsing, Silvia Franceschi, Sheela Godbole, Fernanda K. Tso, Lynette J. Menezes, Chunqing Lin, Gary M. Clifford
Summary: Age-specific shifts in HPV16 prevalence from cervix to anus suggest that HPV infections may persist longer, or occur later in life, in the anus than cervix. This has important implications for using cervical screening results to direct anal cancer prevention.
JOURNAL OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES
(2023)
Review
Virology
Rupert Kaul, Cindy M. Liu, Daniel E. Park, Ronald M. Galiwango, Aaron A. R. Tobian, Jessica L. Prodger
Summary: Most HIV transmission occurs through vaginal-penile sex. The local microbiome plays a critical role in shaping the immune environment at the site of HIV exposure. However, the microbial drivers of inflammation and immune quiescence vary between the vagina and penis. Different taxa are associated with increased HIV risk and optimal microbiota at these tissue sites.
Review
Immunology
Salma Sheikh-Mohamed, Erin C. Sanders, Jennifer L. Gommerman, Michal Caspi Tal
Summary: The COVID-19 pandemic has led to rapid collaborations among cross-institute and cross-country teams, particularly those led by women, who embraced a collaborative approach rather than the traditional competitive mindset. This review highlights the collaboration between teams from Canada, the United States, and Israel, which resulted in a better understanding of mucosal immune response to SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 vaccines.
IMMUNOLOGICAL REVIEWS
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Alicja Beksinska, Emily Nyariki, Rhoda Kabuti, Mary Kungu, Hellen Babu, Pooja Shah, Chrispo Nyabuto, Monica Okumu, Anne Mahero, Pauline Ngurukiri, Zaina Jama, Erastus Irungu, Wendy Adhiambo, Peter Muthoga, Rupert Kaul, Janet Seeley, Helen A. Weiss, Joshua Kimani, Tara S. Beattie
Summary: Female sex workers are at a high risk of harmful alcohol and drug use, with a significant number reporting such behaviors. Occupational and socio-economic factors contribute to this risk. Childhood neglect and violence play a role in both entry into sex work and alcohol use. Interventions targeting individual and structural-level factors are needed to address harmful alcohol and drug use among female sex workers.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH
(2022)
Article
Medicine, Research & Experimental
Eric Armstrong, Anke Hemmerling, Steve Miller, Kerianne E. Burke, Sara J. Newmann, Sheldon R. Morris, Hilary Reno, Sanja Huibner, Maria Kulikova, Rachel Liu, Emily D. Crawford, Gloria R. Castaneda, Nico Nagelkerke, Bryan Coburn, Craig R. Cohen, Rupert Kaul
Summary: The study found that after BV treatment, the vaginal microbiota shifted to dominance by Lactobacillus species, but this change was primarily driven by a decrease in BV-associated bacteria. Although there were minor increases in Lactobacillus species after treatment, they were not independently associated with reduced inflammation.
JOURNAL OF CLINICAL INVESTIGATION
(2022)